Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Ending violence against children is critical to promote the health and socioemotional development of children across the globe. This study used an ecological perspective to examine micro-level and macro-level predictors of parental spanking across 65 countries. We examined the predictors of spanking using multilevel logistic regression analysis.
Micro-level factors ie, those observed at the familial level were stronger predictors of spanking in comparison to macro-level factors ie, those observed at the community and country level. Older child age, the child being female, the head of the household having a secondary education or higher, and higher household wealth were protective factors against spanking, while a higher number of people living in the household was a risk factor for spanking.
Living in an urban community was the only macro-level factor associated with spanking. Intervention at the micro-level and macro-level are important to reduce violence against children across the globe.
This study does not examine mechanisms linking micro-level and macro-level predictors to spanking. Ending violence against children is a global public health priority. The United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals have established that eliminating all forms of violence against children is necessary in order to promote health and well-being across the lifespan.
As such, there is a global effort to ban spanking in all settings including the home. Bans have been associated with lower levels of community violence and can increase public awareness regarding violence against children. The ecological systems model 18 suggests that multiple factors at the individual, microsystem and macrosystem levels influence caregiver utilisation of spanking.
